THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 

C3Q7 
n>&.  I7-3G 


r 


ACHICUlTt/pr 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS, 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 


CHAMPAIGN,  MAY,   1892. 


BULLETIN  NO.  21. 


CONTENTS. 


Horticulture,  a  General  Report. 

Corn   Crossing. 

Sweet  Corn,   Thickness  of   Planting,   1S91 

The  late  Season  and  the  Corn  Crop. 


HORTICULTURE;  A  GENERAL  REPORT 

The  purpose  of  this  article  is  to  present  a  brief  sketch  of  much  of 
>ur  work  in  horticulture;  and  with  the  outline  there  is  given  some  hint 
as  to  results  either  obtained  or  expected,  and,  in  some  cases,  suggestions 
as  to  their  applications. 

More  time  than  we  have  yet  had  must  elapse  before  a  great  many 
of  our  experiments  reach  a  stage  at  which  it  would  be  profitable  to  re- 
port upon  them  in  full.  As  they  reach  completion,  fuller  reports  will 
be  made. 

VARIETY  TESTS. 

For  variety  tests  we  have  growing  on  our  grounds  at  present  475 
varieties  of  apple,  28  of  pear,  40  of  plum,  48  of  cherry,  8  of  peach,  15 
of  apricot,  2  of  quince,  6  of  gooseberry,  7  of  currant,  120  of  grape,  14 
of  blackberry,  30  of  red  and  black  raspberry,  and  98  of  strawberry. 

Variety  tests  would  be  made  of  more  value  if  introducers  were 
compelled  to  have  the  stamp  of  an  experiment  station  before  sending 
out  new  things.  As  it  is,  they  may  or  not,  as  they  please,  send  things 
to  a  station  to  be  tested.  If  tested  and  a  report  made,  the  report  may 
be  used  or  not,  as  suits  the  case.  If  favorable,  it  will  almost  certainly 
be  used  for  all  it  is  worth;  if  unfavorable,  it  will  very  likely  be  thrown 

into  the  waste  basket. 

73 


74  bulletin  no.   21.  [May, 

Fruits. 

Apples.— It  is  too  soon  to  expect  any  definite  results  from  the  tree 
fruits  that  have  been  planted  since  the  establishment  of  the  Experiment 
Station  in  1888.  From  the  University  apple  orchard,  planted  twenty 
years  ago,  a  few  varieties  of  value  might  be  added  to  the  lists  commonly 
recommended;  possibly  two  to  the  list  for  market,  and  three  or  four 
others  to  the  list  for  home  use. 

The  apples  for  market  would  be  Ned  and  Early  Ripe.  Ned  has 
somewhat  the  appearance  and  quality  of  Minkler,  but  its  season  is  from 
October  to  January;  it  came  to  us  also  under  the  names  of  creek  and 
custard.  Mr.  Samuels  of  Kentucky  called  it  Kentucky  cream.  Mr. 
Van  Deman  thought  it  might  be  Minkler,  but  it  is  not  in  season  at  the 
right  time  for  that.  The  early  ripe  is  similar  in  appearance,  season  and 
quality  to  the  early  harvest.  Though  not  so  free  a  bearer  with  us,  it 
does  not  suffer  so  badly  from  scab.  It  is  already  fairly  well  known  in 
many  places. 

For  family  use  there  would  be  Jefferis,  Higby  sweet,  and  Sharp's 
apple.  The  two  former  are  somewhat  known  and  deserve  to  be  better 
known.  Sharp's,  apparently,  is  not  known  or  described  anywhere. 
The  Higby  sweet  is  in  season  from  October  to  December;  the  other 
two,  in  September. 

Grapes.— Among  the  grapes  and  berries  there  has  been  fruiting 
enough  to  make  some  acquaintance  with  varieties  planted  three  or  four 
years  ago.  In  grapes,  if  we  should  advise  only  a  single  variety,  it 
would  still  be  Concord,  because  Concord  has  long  and  successfully 
stood  the  test.  Worden  would  be  a  close  second.  It  is  somewhat  like 
Concord,  and  the  Concord  is  sometimes  sent  out  under  the  name  of 
Worden  when  the  latter  is  ordered. 

For  one  who  desires  a  greater  variety  than  is  usually  recommended 
by  our  horticultural  societies,  Moore's  diamond,  and  some  of  Roger's 
varieties,  as  Brighton,  and  Massasoit  deserve  a  place.  Vergennes, 
Goethe,  and  Duchess  are  among  the  best  keepers  and  may  easily  be  had 
in  good  condition  until  the  holidays. 

Blackberries.— In  blackberries  nothing  has  so  far  been  found  to 
take  the  place  of  Snyder.  The  Wilson,  Wilson  jr.,  and  Erie  produce 
with  us  but  few  perfect  berries.  Early  king  and  early  harvest,  both 
gone  before  the  Snyder  is  ripe,  are  good  in  their  place. 

Black  Raspberries.— -Of  black  raspberries  the  Palmer  seems  the 
most  desirable.  It  is  more  productive  than  the  Gregg,  of  better  quality, 
and  nearly  as  large  in  berry. 

Red  Raspberries.— The  Turner  is  still  one  of  the  best  of  the  red 
raspberries  for  home  use.  Marlboro  and  Cuthbert  are  firmer  and  on 
that  account  better  for  shipment.  Clarke,  a  rather  new  variety,  is  very 
promising.  It  seems  to  have  more  substance  than  either  of  the  others 
and   has  borne  well.     In  quality  it  is  quite  distinct  from  other  varieties. 


1892.]  HORTICULTURE,    A    GENERAL    REPORT.  75 

Schaffer's  colossal  yields  well  and  presents  a  fine  appearance  on  account 
of  its  large  size. 

Vegetables. 

Beans. — Varieties  of  beans  have  been  grown  quite  extensively. 
The  greatest  obstacle  to  the  cultivation  of  beans,  other  than  the  Lima, 
is  their  liability  to  rust.  Some  of  the  varieties  most  highly  praised  by 
seedsmen  rust  so  badly  that  in  three  years  we  have  not  been  able  to 
grow  enough  of  them  to  get  descriptions.  A  few  of  the  worst  are 
lazy  wives,  Indian  chief,  green  flageolet,  Yosemite  wax.  Among  those 
rusting  less  are  the  Valentines,  refugee,  the  soup  beans  as  navy,  etc., 
southern  prolific.  In  general  the  tender  podded  or  snap  beans  seem  to 
ru<t  worse  than  the  others.  The  so  called  rust  proof  varieties  sent  out 
by  different  seed  firms  have  not  seemed  noticeably  more  exempt  from 
disease  than  other  related  varieties. 

Sweet  Corn. — All  the  varieties  of  sweet  corn  offered  by  leading 
seedsmen  have  been  tested  and  full  reports  have  been  made  in  bulletins 
four,  eight,  and  thirteen. 

Pumpkins  and  Squashes. — Pumpkins  and  squashes  have  been 
grown  under  all  the  different  names  under  which  they  could  be  found. 
Sometimes  the  same  name  has  been  applied  to  different  things;  but 
more  frequently  several  different  names  are  given  either  to  the  same 
variety  or  to  those  so  similar  that  for  all  practical  purposes  there  is  no 
difference. 

Among  the  bush  or  summer  squashes  there  seems  to  be  but  little 
choice.  None  of  them  are  of  much  value  after  ripening.  There  are 
several  varieties  classed  as  different  simply  on  account  of  the  difference 
in  the  form  of  the  fruits;  as  for  instance,  white  bush  scallop  and  pine 
apple.  Of  the  winter  squashes  the  marrow  under  various  names,  as 
Boston  marrow,  etc.,  have  seemed  most  desirable,  because  most  produc- 
tive, and  they  are  of  very  good  quality.  The  Hubbard,  with  us,  has  been 
a  shy  bearer.  The  most  productive  of  the  pumpkins  has  been  Connecti- 
cut field.  Those  of  best  quality  are  Yokahama,  a  very  distinct  variety, 
sweet,  tender  and  fine  grained,  sweet  cheese  or  varieties  closely  related 
to  it,  Jonathan,  and  Tennessee  sweet  potato. 

All  the  pumpkins  and  squashes  grown  in  the  north  belong  to  two 
natural  species,  Cucurbita  pepo  and  C.  maxima.  Most  of  the  pump- 
kins belong  to  the  former  species,  but  Jonathan,  Tennessee  sweet 
30tato,  and  all  the  so  called  mammoth  pumpkins  belong  to  C.  maxima. 

All  the  late  squashes  except  vegetable  marrow  belong  in  the 
species  maxima.  All  the  summer  squashes  and  vegetable  marrow, 
Brazilian  sugar,  and  a  few  others  belong  in  the  species  pepo. 

The  best  characters  about  the  fruit  for  distinguishing  the  species 
ire  the  stem  and  seeds.  The  seeds  of  C.  maxima  are  much  whiter  and 
ire  usually  larger  than  those  of  C.  pepo.  The  stem  of  C.  maxima  is 
Mthy  or  corky  on  the  outside  while  the  stem  of  C.  pepo  is  very  woody 
ind    hard.      The   stem    of    C.   ?naxima   is    nearly    round   and   enlarged, 


j6  bulletin   no.   2i.  [ May, 

while  that  of  C.  pepo  is  strongly  5-angled.  It  would  have  been  much 
better  if  the  term  pumpkin  could  have  been  applied  exclusively  to  one 
species  and  squash  to  the  other,  it  may  not  be  worth  while  to  try  to 
change  now. 

WINTER  PROTECTION  OF  PEACH  TREES. 

Turning  down  peach  trees  for  winter  protection  has  been  tried 
somewhat  and  the  trials  are  still  going  on.  Results  have  been  fairly 
favorable.  To  prepare  for  turning  down  the  trees  the  best  method  is 
to  plant  them  with  the  roots  extending  in  two  opposite  directions.  The 
roots  can  be  bent,  and  if  any  are  too  large  for  that,  cut  them  off  close  to 
the  trunk  of  the  tree.  Then  by  digging  the  dirt  away  from  one  side 
the  tree  may  be  bent  down,  twisting  the  roots.  Evergreen  branches, 
corn  stalks,  or  coarse  straw  make  a  good  cover.  The  tree  will  not 
stay  down  unless  fastened  in  some  way. 

The  varieties  of  peach  differ  in  hardiness.  During  the  past  winter 
the  temperature  fell  to-i2^°F.  at  one  time  and  to  — 150  F.  at  another. 
An  examination  of  the  buds  of  six  different  varieties  gave  the  following 
results: 

Variety  of  Peach. 

Alexander , 

Lemon  cling 151 

Roser 

Thurber 

Wager 

Seedling  cling 766 

The  above  varieties  were  kept  well  cultivated  during  the  entire 
season,  and  the  treatment  of  all  was  the  same.  An  unknown  variety 
growing  in  sgd  had  95  per  cent  of  its  buds  alive  when  examined  at  the 
same  time. 

We  are  starting  to  make  a  collection  of  all  the  varieties  reputed 
exceptionally  hardy  and  expect  to  grow  seedlings  from  these.  There 
is  no  reason  why  a  few  generations  may  not  give  us  a  peach  hardy 
enough  to  stand  most  of  our  winters  and  as  good  in  point  of  size  and 
quality  as  those  now  grown.  The, trees  can  be  covered,  of  course,  and 
even  the  tender  ones  made  to  fruit;  but  if  a  hardy  variety  can  be  had, 
there  is  no  need  to  cover  up  tender  ones. 

PROTECTION  OF  THE  TRUNKS  OF  TREES. 

We  are  trying  methods  of  protecting  the  trunks  of  trees,  in  vari 
eties  where  that  seems  to  be  the  weak  point,  by  the  use  of  boards  and 
building  paper;  by  the  growth  of  plants  on  the  southwest,  such  as  corn 
or  the  black  raspberry;  or  by  giving  the  tree  a  new  trunk,  as  has  been 
so  long  and  ably  advocated  by  Mr.  J.  V.  Cotta,  of  Nursery,  111.  The 
piece  which  forms  the  new  trunk  retains  its  individual  character,  as 
may  be  seen  by  noticing  the  overgrowth  of  a  fast  growing  variety  when 
worked  on  one  of  slower  growth. 


No.  of  buds 

No.  of  bu 

ds 

No.  of  buds 

Per  cent  of 

examined. 

dead. 

alive. 

buds  alive. 

121 

79 

42 

34 

151 

133 

18 

13 

144 

24 

120 

83 

192 

62 

I30 

67 

172 

157 

15 

8 

766 

170 

596 

77 

>C)2.]  HORTICULTURE,    A    GENERAL     REPORT.  77 


CROSS  FERTILIZING  AND  HYBRIDIZING. 

Cross  fertilizing  and  hybridizing  have  been  carried  on  to  some 
extent,  both  for  the  study,  of  the  effects  of  crossing  and  for  the  purpose 
of  producing,  if  possible,  new  varieties  of  value.  A  number  of  crosses 
have  been  made  in  the  apple,  as  for  instance,  between  Ben  Davis  and 
Grimes,  Ben  Davis  and  Minkler,  or  Ben  Davis  and  Duchess,  with  a 
view  of  getting  something  that  will  bear  like  the  Ben  Davis,  but  have 
the  better  quality  of  Grimes  or  Minkler;  have  the  keeping  quality  of 
the  Ben  Davis  and  the  hardiness  of  tree  of  the  Duchess.  Different 
varieties  of  strawberries  have  been  crossed  and  plants  are  growing  from 
the  crossed  seed.  Blackberry  varieties  have  been  crossed,  seeds  planted 
and  plants  are  growing.  Raspberries  have  been  crossed — black 
varieties  together — red  varieties  together — black  with  red,  and  black- 
berries with  raspberries.  We  have  now  ready  for  planting  more  than 
a  quart  of  seed  from  crossed  raspberry  and  blackberry  or  from  selected 
varieties. 

Results  are  problematical,  but  there  is  certainly  great  room  for 
improvement  in  our  blackberries  and  raspberries.  There  is  entirely 
too  much  seed  for  the  amount  of  flesh.  When  we  consider  that  our 
apples  originated  from  a  crab  in  no  way  superior  to  many  of  our  own 
native  wild  crabs,  and  the  excellence  that  has  been  developed  by  culti- 
vation and  selection,  what  may  we  not  expect  from  our  raspberries  and 
blackberries,  which  are  so  much  better  naturally?  We  have  only 
begun  with  the  raspberry  and  blackberry  group  of  plants.  I  believe 
none  of  the  blackberries  or  dewberries  now  cultivated  are  the  result  of 
growing  plants  from  seed,  but  that  all  are  the  result  of  propagating 
natural  seedlings;  and  it  is  not  at  all  certain  that  we  have  yet  the  best 
of  the  wild  varieties.     Most  of  our  raspberries  are  the  result  of  chance. 

During  the  past  three  seasons  some  work  has  been  done  in  the  line 
of  crossing  and  selecting  corn.  The  results  seem  to  indicate  that  corn 
grown  from  crossing  two  distinct  varieties  will  be  larger  than  the 
average  of  the  kinds  crossed;  or  where  the  parents  are  nearly  equal, 
larger  than  either. 

It  is  not  certain  that  this  isolated  fact,  if  it  prove  to  be  a  fact,  will 
be  of  any  value  to  fruit  growers;  nor  is  it  certain  that  the  direct  results 
of  these  corn  crosses  will  yield  anything  of  value  in  themselves. 

There  were  shown  at  the  last  State  Fair,  samples  of  what  are 
called  Carter's  cross-bred  wheats.  They  are  as  wonderful  in  their  way 
as  the  best  specimens  of  the  breeder's  art  among  animals.  Mr.  John 
Thorpe,  now  at  the  head  of  the  Floral  Department  for  the  World's 
Fair,  who  has  been  a  successful  originator  of  flowering  plants,  said  he 
could  come  as  near  producing  a  desired  variety  by  growing  ioo  plants 
from  crossed  seed  as  by  growing  1,000  plants  from  seed  simply  selected. 
There  is  plenty  of  room  for  the  skillful  breeder  of  plants. 


jS  BULLETIN    NO.    21.  [  M& 


IMPROVEMENT  OF   NATIVE  FRUITS. 

We  cannot   have  too  much  variety  in  the  way  of  wholesome  fruit. 

Poor  as  our  wild  crabs  are  considered  by  many,  a  taste  for  them 
may  be  cultivated,  the  same  as  a  taste  for  the  Russian  apples,  or  for 
tomatoes  or  celery.  Most  of  the  wild  crabs  seem  to  be  abundant 
bearers,  hardy,  and  comparatively  free  from  disease. 

There  is  promise  of  value  in  our  papaw,  {Asimina  triloba'). 

In  Japan  the  persimmon  is  their  standard  fruit.  No  reason  is  known 
why  ours  cannot  be  made  fully  equal  to  those  grown  in  Japan.  Even 
as  they  grow  native  they  show  a  decided  tendency  to  vary,  and  the  best 
of  them  are  certainly  equal  to  the  Japanese  as  sold  in  our  markets.  The 
persimmon  of  Japan  has  had  the  advantage  of  thousands  of  years  of 
man's  cultivation  and  selection. 

There  may  be  something  worth  looking  after  in  our  red  haws 
{Cratcegus  coccinea).  Some  of  them  are  now  gathered  for  jelly  and 
butter. 

We  have  seedlings  of  all  these  wild  fruits  growing  and  should  be 
glad  to  get  more  seeds  or  cions  of  exceptionally  good  kinds.  There 
seems  to  have  been  no  continued  attempt  to  improve  any  of  them. 
They  all,  even  in  their  wild  state,  vary  in  shape,  size,  season  and  quality. 
Cultivation  ought  after  a  few  generations  to  bring  out  or  strengthen 
good  points.  On  the  side  of  producing  new  varieties,  we  do  not  know 
of  a  more  promising  field  than  our  native  wild  fruits.  We  have  many 
promising  varieties  of  native  plums — all  or  nearly  all  chance  or  natural 
seedlings.  Our  grapes  have  been  made  much  of,  though  the  Concord, 
which  still  heads  the  list  for  general  purposes,  was  a  wild  seedling  of 
the  New  England  woods.  We  may  hope,  however,  that  the  Concord 
will  not  long  hold  its  sway;  for  there  are  nursery-grown  seedlings, 
crosses  and  hybrids,  which  are  fast  coming  to  the  front,  and  we  may 
expect  the  old  standard  to  be  superseded  by  something  as  hardy,  as 
productive,  of  finer  appearance  and  better  quality.  Will  not  the  varia- 
tions of  later  generations  from  Roger's  hybrids  give  us  something  of 
value?  To  be  sure  nothing  has  yet  been  reported  in  that  line,  though 
there  would  seem  to  have  been  abundant  time  for  seedlings  to  have 
been  grown.  If  the  results  of  our  crosses  in  corn  are  to  serve  as  an 
index,  we  might  expect  to  find  in  a  second  or  third  generation  fruit  of 
the  Vinifera  type  on  vines  of  the  Librusca.  There  is  a  great  differ- 
ence in  the  susceptibility  of  fruits  to  the  influence  of  man.  Our  grapes 
have  had  more  time  spent  on  them,  extending  over  a  longer  period, 
than  have  our  strawberries;  yet  the  results  from  grapes  are  hardly  to 
be  compared  to  the  results  with  strawberries. 

A  small  start  has  been  made  in  the  growth  of  nuts.  The  attempts 
at  improvement  heretofore  have  been  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the 
pecan  and  chestnut.     Attempts  at  improvement  by  growing  seedlings 


1892.]  HORTICULTURE,    A    GENERAL    REPORT.  79 

from  the  best  native  trees  have  usually  been  a  disappointment,  because 
the  seedlings  have  been  inferior  to  the  tree  from  which  seed  was 
taken,  just  as  999  of  every  1,000  seedlings  grown  from  the  Concord  grape 
have  been  so  inferior  to  the  parent  as  to  be  unworthy  of  general  dis- 
tribution. But  it  must  be  remembered  that  while  there  are  compara- 
tively few  chances  for  improvement  by  growing  seedlings  there  are 
none  from  simply  budding  or  grafting. 

The  filbert  and  walnut  of  Europe  are  too  tender  for  our  climate. 
Why  may  not  our  hazel-nut  and  walnut  be  improved  so  as  to  take  their 
places,  and  be  made  valuable  crops  for  the  rough  lands  along  our 
streams? 

METHODS  OF  CULTIVATION. 

Grapes. — Since  the  spring  of  1888  a  cultivation  experiment  has 
been  carried  on  in  an  old  vineyard  on  the  University  farm.  Part  of 
the  vineyard  has  been  kept  well  cultivated,  while  the  rest  is  allowed  to 
grow  up  to  weeds  and  grass,  and  is  mowed  over  two  or  three  times 
during  the  season.  During  the  seasons  of  18S8  to  1890  no  attention 
was  paid  to  comparative  yield,  because  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  fruit 
rotted  that  it  seemed  undesirable  to  make  comparisons  of  yield.  For 
1891  the  yield  per  vine  of  grapes  not  cultivated  was  17.67  lb.  while  on 
vines  kept  well  cultivated  the  yield  was  10.89  lb.  per  vine.  But  the 
vines  made  a  much  more  vigorous  healthy  growth  where  well  culti- 
vated than  where  not  and  are  in  better  condition  for  next  year's  work. 
The  bunches  on  the  cultivated  vines  were  larger  and  the  berries  larger, 
better  colored,  better  flavored,  earlier  (at  least  10  days)  and  ripened 
more  evenly,  than  on  the  vines  not  cultivated.  Pound  for  pound  they 
were  worth  nearly  twice  as  much  in  market,  because  they  were  earlier 
and  because  they  presented  a  better  appearance. 

Raspberries. — It  is  not  necessary  to  tell  the  practical,  progressive 
fruit  grower  that  it  pays  to  give  all  crops  thorough  cultivation.  But 
many  farmers  and  a  few  fruit  growers  seem  to  think  it  is  necessary  to 
cultivate  raspberries  the  first  year  only;  the  only  attention  needed  there- 
after being  to  pick  the  fruit  when  ripe.  With  such  treatment  the 
plants  are  not  usually  worth  much  after  the  third  or  fourth  year. 
With  good  care  the  black  raspberry  plat  ought  to  improve  with  each 
year  for  at  least  four  years,  and  then  last  indefinitely.  All  our  rasp- 
berries have  been  cultivated  more  or  less,  but  some  of  our  neighbors 
have  had  plats  which  were  not  cultivated  the  past  season.  One  of 
them,  when  asked  last  summer  about  his  berries,  said  "  I  am  picking 
dried  raspberries  and  expected  to  be  able  to  supply  the  home  demand." 
A  plat  of  our  Gregg  raspberries  that  has  been  cultivated  after  the  fruit- 
ing season  only,  having  the  weeds  mowed  off  before  the  fruit  ripened, 
was  as  good  as  the  same  variety  on  the  grounds  of  any  fruit  grower 
visited  during  the  season.  Alongside  this  plat  was  another  of  the  same 
size,  kept  well  tended  during  the  season,  which  yielded  nearly  twice  as 


So  BULLETIN    NO.    21.  [  J/tfy, 

much  as  the  one  only  half  cultivated,  the  yields  being  272^  qt.  and 
4871^  qt.  Although  the  season  was  very  unfavorable,  several  growers 
who  visited  us  said  they  had  never  before  seen  so  fine  a  plat  of  black 
raspberries. 

Farmers  sometimes  say  when  urged  to  keep  better  stock,  ''The 
improved  breeds  take  more  attention  to  keep  them  in  condition;"  or, 
"  The  scrubs  would  be  nearly  as  good  as  the  improved  breeds,  if  as  well 
cared  for."  There  is  a  half  truth  in  both  statements.  A  similar  thing 
could  be  said  of  our  fruits.  It  is  care  that  has  made  them  larger,  more 
productive  and  improved  their  quality.  Without  this  same  care  con- 
tinued they  would  tend  to  revert  to  their  original  condition. 

FUNGICIDES. 

Fungicides  have  been  tried  for  preventing  black  rot  and  mildew 
of  the  grape,  scab  of  the  apple,  leaf  blight  of  the  potato,  etc.  A  report 
of  this  work  has  been  published  in  bulletin  No.  15,  and  also  in  the  last 
report  of  the  State  Horticultural   Society.     We  are  still  experimenting. 

There  are  other  uses  for  both  fungus  and  insect  remedies  besides  sav- 
ing the  crop  of  fruit.  Any  disease  which  attacks  the  leaves  or  branches 
lowers  the  plant's  vitality,  causes  a  less  perfect  ripening  of  the  year's 
growth,  and,  consequently,  greater  inability  to  withstand  the  effects  of 
severe  winters.  If  the  apple  trees  had  been  in  perfect  health  a  few 
years  ago  there  is  no  doubt  we  should  have  heard  much  less  of  the  test 
winters  of  the  early  '8o's. 

WHOLE  AND  PIECE  ROOT  GRAFTING. 

A  study  of  whole-  and  piece-root  grafting  has  been  begun.  For 
this  purpose  something  more  than  2,000  grafts  were  put  up  here  and 
were  set  last  spring,  though  many  of  them  failed  to  grow. 

The  principal  advocates  of  the  whole-root  method  claim  as  its 
greatest  advantage  that  the  graft  is  set  on  the  collar  of  the  seedling 
tree,  that  there  alone  is  the  natural  place  for  a  union  between  the 
trunk  of  the  tree  and  the  root,  and  that  to  put  the  graft  on  any  other 
part  of  the  root  must  necessarily  make  a  less  perfect  union,  and,  conse- 
quently, a  poorer  tree  in  the  nursery,  and  a  less  enduring  and  perfect 
orchard  tree.  They  do  not  advocate  the  use  of  the  whole  root  as  one 
would  naturally  be  led  to  suppose;  but  what  is  usually  called  the  upper 
cut,  five  to  six  inches  long,  from  the  collar  down.  We  have  used 
roots  in  the  following  forms: 

Roots  ten  inches  long  with  the  cion  set  two  inches  above  the  col- 
lar, on  the  collar,  and  two  inches  below  the  collar. 

Roots  cut  into  two  pieces  each  five  inches  long,  being  careful  to 
put  the  cion  in  the  collar  of  the  upper  cut. 

Roots  cut  and  cions  put  in  the  same  as  the  last,  but  leaving  the 
side  branches  on  the  root. 


1892.]  HORTICULTURE,    A    GENERAL    REPORT.  8l 

Roots  cut  into  three  pieces  each  four  inches  long,  again  putting 
the  cion  on  the  collar  of  the  upper  cut. 

In  like  manner  the  roots  were  cut  into  bits  two  inches  and  one 
inch  long. 

The  conclusions  from  one  year's  work  are: 

The  whole  root  has  no  advantage  over  a  piece  root  of  the  same 
size.     (Size  refers  to  both  length  and  thickness.) 

Roots  with  the  small  side  branches  left  on  gave  better  results  than 
roots  of  the  same  size,  with  the  rootlets  cut  away. 

Roots  five  inches  long  gave  better  results  than  roots  four  inches, 
two  inches,  or  one  inch  long. 

Roots  five  inches  long  not  trimmed  gave  nearly  as  good  results 
as  roots  ten  inches  long. 

BOTANICAL  WORK  AFFECTING  HORTICULTURE. 

The  Botanist  and  his  assistant  are  endeavoring  to  gain  new 
information  upon  every  opportunity,  by  observation,  experiment,  and 
research. 

Much  of  this  work  must  depend  upon  opportunities  as  they  arise, 
such  as  observations  upon  special  diseases  when  they  appear,  and  any 
peculiarities  of  plant  development  when  they  are  found.  But  special 
subjects  are  selected  upon  which  work  is  done  more  or  less  continuously. 
Just  now  those  in  hand  directly  allied  to  horticulture  are: 

1.  An  investigation  of  the  structural  physiological  union  of  stock 
and  cion  and  of  modifications  observed  in  different  unions. 

2.  The  cause  of  the  disease  known  as  "yellows  of  the  peach  tree." 
A  large  amount  of  work  has  been  done  by  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, at  Washington,  but  no  definite  conclusions  have  been  reached  as 
to  the  immediate  cause.  While  the  disease  does  but  little,  if  any,  dam- 
age in  this  state,  it  has  been  very  serious  in  other  states. 

3.  The  life  history  and  peculiarities  of  development  of  the  red 
rust  of  blackberries  and  raspberries. 

4.  Potato  scab.  We  have  during  several  years  made  investiga- 
tions on  this  peculiar  disease  and  in  common  with  other  recent  observ- 
ers have  found  clear  evidence  that  it  is  due  to  a  bacterial  parasite. 
Other  stations  have  gone  somewhat  farther  in  some  lines  and  have 
shown  that  diseased  seed  carries  to  the  new  crop  germs  of  the  disease; 
that  the  disease  may  be  retained  in  the  ground  from  year  to  year;  that 
treating  seed  with  solutions  of  corrosive  sublimate  or  the  copper  solu- 
tions tends  to  check  the  disease,  or  that  spraying  the  seed  potatoes  in 
the  furrow  just  after  planting  tends  to  prevent  the  disease. 

T.  J.   Burrill,  Ph.D.,  Horticulturist  and  Botanist. 
G.   W.   McCluer,  B.S.,  Assistant  Horticulturist. 


82  BULLETIN    NO.    2  1.  [May, 


CORN  CROSSING. 

The  systematic  breeding  of  plants  is  one  of  the  comparatively  new- 
things,  followed  by  but  few,  and  of  which  but  little  is  commonly 
known,  either  as  to  methods  or  results. 

Among  the  more  advanced  florists  plant  breeding,  crossing,  and 
hybridizing  have  been  carried  on  longer  and  more  successfully  than 
among  farmers  or  fruit  growers;  and  the  many  valuable  varieties  of 
flowering  plants  which  have  been  produced  are  abundant  evidence  of 
the  efficacy  of  skillful  work  on  these  lines;  but  to  the  great  majority 
of  florists  such  work  has  been  a  hidden  mystery.  A  few  farmers  have 
attempted  to  produce  better  varieties  of  corn  and  other  plants  by  cross- 
ing: they  have  done  much  more  by  continued  careful  selection;  but 
outside  of  experiment  stations  there  has  been  very  little  work  done  and 
recorded  in  the  way  of  breeding  new  varieties  of  corn,  wheat,  or  oats. 

Mr.  Carter,  of  England,  and  Mr.  Carman,  of  the  Rural  New 
Yorker,  seem  to  have  been  the  pioneers  in  crossing  Or  breeding  wheats. 
(The  term  "breeding"  is  used  here  to  impress  the  analogy  between 
rearing  plants  and  animals,  for  while  there  are  many  obvious  points  of 
difference  there  are  many  points  of  resemblance.  There  must  in  every 
case,  either  plant  or  animal,  except  in  some  very  low  forms,  be  male 
and  female,  and  for  reproduction  in  plants  as  in  animals  the  male  and 
female  elements  must  be  brought  together;  and  the  parentage  of  the 
coming  plant  can  be  controlled  just  as  certainly  as  the  parentage  of  the 
coming  animal.)  The  pioneer  in  oats  breeding  has  not  yet  made  him- 
self known.  The  breeders  of  corn  are  not  prolific  writers  and  so  are 
not  well  known. 

The  work  done  at  the  various  experiment  stations  has  not  yet  been 
well  digested.  In  fact  there  has  scarcely  been  time  for  the  accumula- 
tion of  sufficient  data  from  which  to  make  well  digested  reports. 
Some  of  the  stations  seem  to  have  gone  only  far  enough  to  study  the 
immediate  results  of  crossing;  that  is,  the  effect  of  the  pollen,  or  male 
element,  on  the  resulting  kernel  of  corn,  making  the  work  in  that  sense 
scientific  only,  as  distinguished  from  the  practical.  An  object  with 
other  stations  has  been  the  production  of  varieties  which  should  show 
points  of  superiority  for  the  special  locality  over  varieties  already 
grown.  In  this  line  Minnesota  reported  apparent  success;  but  just  as 
success  was  reached,  a  fire  in  their  barns  destroyed  all  the  seed.  If, 
however,  they  have  kept  full  notes,  and  these  were  saved,  they  can 
begin  again  where  they  were  at  the  start  and  reproduce  the  same 
variety  with  much  less  labor  than  before,  because  there  will  be  no 
need  of  more  than  the  work  leading  to  the  special  result. 


1892.]  CORN    CROSSING.  83 

The  work  which  forms  the  basis  of  this  report  on  crossing  corn 
was  begun  in  1889.  Crossing  the  dent  corns,  to  which  reference  is 
made,  was  done  by  Professor  Thos.  F.  Hunt,  now  of  Ohio  State 
University,  who  was  at  that  time  assistant  agriculturist  here. 

During  this  first  year,  16  ears  were  produced  by  crossing  varieties 
of  dent  corn,  no  crosses  being  made  between  varieties  of  different 
colors.  Besides  the  purely  dent  corn  crosses  there  were  made  the 
following: 

Male,  or  pollen-  Female,  or  ear-  Ears 

bearing  parent.  bearing  parent.  produced 

Learning  [yellow  dent] Mammoth  [sweet] 4 

Triumph  "      3 

8-rowed  "      3 

Gold  coin  [yellow  sweet] Mammoth  "      2 

"         Triumph  "      3 

8-rowed  "      2 

Stowell's  evergreen  [sweet] Mammoth  "      2 

Triumph  "      3 

8-rowed  "      4 

Queen's  golden  [pop-corn] A  white  dent 2 

A  white  dent Queen's  golden  (pop-corn) 2 

Black  Mexican  [sweet] "  3 

A  white  dent 3 

During  the  season  of  1S90,  158  ears  were  produced  by  crosses 
between  different  varieties,  or  by  crossing  different  stalks  within  the 
same  variety,  or  by  self-fertilizing,  that  is,  by  using  the  pollen  of  a 
stalk  on  silks  of  the  same  stalk.  The  crosses  of  varieties  different  from 
those  of  the  previous  year  were: 

Male  parent.  Female  parent.  Ears  produced. 

Gold  coin   [sweet] Brazilian  flour 2 

Queen's  golden  [pop-corn] Common  pearl    [pop-corn] 4 

Brazilian  flour Burr's  white  dent    2 

White  dent  varieties Yellow  dent  varieties 6 

Yellow  dent         " White  dent         "         3 

In  none  of  the  crosses  between  different  varieties  of  dent  corn  of 
the  same  color,  or  between  different  varieties  of  sweet  corn  of  the  same 
color,  has  there  been  any  change  in  the  crossed  ear  that  could  with  any 
certainty  be  attributed  to  the  pollen.  While  ears  produced  by  crossing 
different  varieties  have  varied  from  each  other,  and  from  the  type  of 
the  variety,  they  have  only  varied  in  the  same  directions  and  apparently 
to  no  greater  extent  than  ears  of  the  same  variety  left  to  form  naturally. 
The  typical  ear  of  the  Stowell's  evergreen  differs  very  decidedly  from 
typical  ears  of  either  S-rowed,  triumph,  or  mammoth;  but  the  ears  pro- 
duced by  pollen  of  Stowell's  on  either  of  the  others  did  not  differ 
from  the  female  type  in  any  way,  more  than  did  many  ears  left  to  be 
fertilized  naturally.  It  is  possible  that  the  pollen  of  a  very  smooth  dent 
corn  on  the  silks  of  a  very  rough  dent  variety  would  tend  strongly  to 
make  the  resulting  ears  smoother,  but  the  opposite  cross  would  scarcely 
tend  to  make  the  resulting  ears  rougher. 

Ears  produced  by  crossing  white  sweet  corn  with  pollen  of  yellow 
dent  corn  have  been  nearly  as  dark  as  the  male  variety,  with  kernels 
very  much   like  flint  corn   in  appearance,  neither  dented   nor  wrinkled, 


84  BULLETIN    NO.    2  1.  [  May, 

and  with  the  taste  characteristic  of  dent  corn.  The  kernels  are  prob- 
ably increased  in  size,  at  least  the  seed-coat  is  not  shriveled  as  is  charac- 
teristic of  sweet  corn.  The  change  in  form  of  the  seed  coat  is  probably 
an  indication  that  the  kernel  has  stored  more  dry  matter  in  proportion 
to  water  than  it  would  have  done  had  it  been  fertilized  with  pollen  of 
sweet  corn.  Where  both  sweet  and  dent  kernels  appear  on  the  same 
ear  the  dent  kernels  are  always  the  heavier.  Kernels  were  weighed 
from  five  ears,  each  of  which  had  both  dent  and  sweet  kernels  with  the 
following  results: 

Wt.  in  grams  of 
100  kernels. 

Ear  No.  1 j  Sweet  kernels 27.9 

(  Dent  34-5 

Ear  No.  2 j  Sweet  kernels 234 

I  Dent  29.5 

EarNo    3  j  Sweet  kernels 39  2 

I  Dent          "       47.4 

Ear  No  ^  Sweet  kernels 22.6 

4 (  Dent        "        27 

Ear  No.  5 i  Sweet  kernels 26  4 

J  j  Dent        "         34.8 

Color,  where  it  is  a  character  of  the  kernel  and  not  of  the  seed- 
coat,  tends  very  strongly  to  pass  from  one  variety  to  another.  The 
peculiar  color  of  the  cranberry  did  not  seem  to  affect  the  other  white 
varieties  to  which  the  pollen  was  applied.  The  cranberry  owes  its 
color  to  the  seed-coat  entirely;  the  kernel  is  white,  and  the  variety  is 
classed  as  a  white  corn.  In  the  white,  yellow,  and  black  varieties  and 
in  crosses  of  these,  which  run  into  other  colors,  the  color  is  determined 
by  the  kernel  and  not  by  the  seed-coat. 

Ears  produced  by  crossing  yellow  dent  corn  with  pollen  of  white 
dent  have  been  lighter  colored,  and  those  produced  by  the  opposite 
cross  darker  colored  than  the  type  of  the  female  parent,  though  the 
change  has  not  always  been  uniform. 

Ears  produced  by  crossing  Queen's  golden  pop-corn  with  pollen  of 
black  Mexican  sweet  corn  showed  the  black  color  in  varying  degrees  in 
most  of  the  kernels,  but  were  otherwise  unchanged. 

Ears  produced  by  crossing  a  white  dent  with  pollen  of  black  Mex- 
ican had  kernels  varying  in  color  from  white  to  black.  More  than 
half  the  kernels  were  wrinkled  and  had  the  taste  characteristic  of 
sweet  corn  ;  while  the  rest,  though  showing  the  black  color  as  much  as 
the  wrinkled  or  sweet  kernels,  were  only  less  dented  than  is  character- 
istic of  the  variety.     The  taste  was  not  modified. 

Ears  produced  by  crossing  Brazilian  flour  corn  with  pollen  of  gold 
coin  sweet  corn  were  nearly  as  yellow  as  the  gold  coin,  and  the  kernels 
were  flinty  in  outward  appearance. 

Ears  produced  by  crossing  Burr's  white  dent  with  pollen  of  the 
Brazilian    flour  corn  showed  no  positive  results  of  the  cross. 

Ears  produced  by  crossing  white  sweet  corn  with  pollen  of  yellow 
sweet  corn  were  nearly  as  yellow  as  the  pollen-bearing  variety. 


1892.]  CORN    CROSSING.  85 

Ears  produced  by  crossing  white  dent  with  pollen  of  Queen's 
golden  pop-corn  were  nearly  as  dark  as  the  pollen-bearing  parent,  and 
were  less  dented  than  is  characteristic  of  the  variety.  The  smoothness 
may  or  may  not  have  been  an  effect  of  crossing. 

Ears  produced  by  crossing  Queen's  golden  with  pollen  of  white 
dent  seemed  lighter  in  color  but  were  otherwise  unchanged.  Though  the 
kernels  of  the  dent  corn  weigh  nearly  two  and  one-half  times  as  much  as 
the  pop-corn  the  pollen  of  the  dent  corn  seemed  to  make  no  difference 
in  the  size  of  pop-corn  kernels. 

Ears  produced  by  crossing  the  white  pop-corn,  common  pearl,  with 
pollen  of  Queen's  golden  were  very  strongly  marked  with  the  yellow 
color  of  the  male  parent. 

One  of  the  principal  things  to  be  learned  from  making  some  of 
these  crosses  of  widely  different  varieties  is  the  degree  of  certainty  which 
can  be  felt  in  the  work  done.  For  this  purpose  the  crosses  in  which 
yellow  dent  has  been  the  male  and  white  sweet  varieties  the  female, 
yellow  sweet  male  and  white  sweet  female,  and  yellow  pop-corn  male 
and  white  dent  female  have  been  the  best.  On  nineteen  ears  produced 
by  these  various  crosses  there  were  found  only  two  kernels  which  did 
not  show  distinctly  the  effects  of  the  pollen,  and  these  two  kernels  were 
pretty  certainly  not  fertilized  with  the  pollen  intended.  In  the  case  of 
sweet  corn  stalks  bearing  two  ears,  where  only  one  was  crossed  and  the 
other  left  to  be  naturally  fertilized,  there  was  no  indication  of  anything 
but  sweet  corn  pollen  on  the  nanirally  fertilized  ears. 

The  results  obtained  from  planting  crossed  seed  have  been  of  more 
importance  than  the  immediate  effect  of  crossing,  not  so  much  in  them- 
selves perhaps  as  in  the  conclusions  which  may  be  drawn  from  them. 
None  of  the  purely  dent  corn  crosses  have  been  used  for  seed.  If  they 
had  been,  some  of  the  conclusions  drawn  from  growing  the  others 
might  have  been  modified.  Parts  of  most  of  the  ears  produced  by  the 
other  crosses  were  planted  in  small  plats,  one  by  two  rods,  with  but 
little  space  between  them.  During  the  first  growing  season  the  uni- 
formity of  the  crossed  plats  was  very  noticeable.  Of  142  plats  planted 
with  sweet  corn,  pop-corn,  and  these  crosses,  it  is  safe  to  say  there  was 
as  much  uniformity  in  any  one  of  the  crossed  plats  as  in  any,  and  very 
much  more  than  was  found  in  most,  of  the  plats  planted  with  pure 
varieties. 

The  plats  in  which  Learning  was  used  as  the  male  parent  resembles 
decidedly  that  variety. 

The  plat  in  which  the  white  dent  was  the  male  and  Queen's  golden 
female  resembled  the  dent;  while  the  opposite  cross,  Queen's  golden 
male  and  white  dent  female,  produced  a  plat  intermediate  between  the 
two  parents  in  character. 

The  plats  from  seed  produced  by  using  the  black  Mexican  as  male 
and  the  white  dent  as  female  parent,  resembled  decidedly  the  dent  corn. 


S6  BULLETIN    NO.    2  1.  [May, 

The  plat  planted  from  the  gold  coin  flour  corn  cross,  produced 
stalks  more  like  the  common  dent  corn  than  like  either  parent.  While 
the  gold  coin  occasionally  produces  suckers  and  the  flour  corn  character- 
istically two  to  four  or  more,  each  of  which  reaches  nearly  the  size  of 
the  parent  stalk,  the  stalks   from  crossed  seed  produced  no  suckers. 

The  stalks  from  Queen's  golden-pearl  pop-corn  cross  were  in  type 
between  the  parents  but  larger  than  an  average  size  of  the  two. 

The  number  of  rows  of  kernels  on  the  ear  seemed  to  be  modified 
about  equally  by  each  parent.  The  Learning  has  18  to  24  rows  of  ker- 
nels, and  the  mammoth  sweet  12  to  16.  The  ears  grown  from  the 
cross  had  from  14  to  18  rows.  Both  the  8-rowed  sweet  and  triumph 
have  8  rows  of  kernels.  The  corn  grown  from  the  Leaming-8-rowed 
cross  had  10  to  14  rows  of  kernels  ;  while  those  grown  from  the  Learn- 
ing-triumph cross  had  from  10  to  16  rows. 

The  number  of  ears  to  the  stalk  tended  to  follow  the  same  type  as 
the  stalk.  As  an  illustration,  the  black  Mexican  corn  usually  produces 
one  ear,  sometimes  two  ;  the  pop-corn  usually  produces  two-eared 
stalks,  though  frequently  three-eared.  The  cross  between  the  two  varie- 
ties had  very  much  the  appearance  of  Queen's  golden  as  it  grew,  and 
most  of  the  stalks  bore  two  ears,  while  a  few  bore  three. 

On  these  plats  of  crossed  corn  a  large  number  of  cross  and  self-fer- 
tilizations were  made,  though  not  going  outside  of  the  plat  for  the  pol- 
len used  in  the  crossing.  The  ears  so  produced  and  other  selected  were 
used  in  the  second  year's  planting.         • 

When  the  crossed  plats  were  husked  the  ears  from  each  plat  were 
as  uniform  as  is  common  with  varieties  of  corn.  The  corn  grown  from 
the  crosses  of  different  varieties  was  plainly  modified  to  about  the  same 
extent  by  each  parent.  The  corn  produced  by  using  the  pop-corn  and 
dent  corn  as  parents  seemed  to  show  the  effect  of  the  male  more  than  of 
the  female  parent,  those  in  which  the  pop-corn  was  the  male  parent  be- 
ing more  flinty  than  those  in  which  the  dent  corn  was  the  male  parent. 

Description  of  Plates. 

Plate  1.  Black  Mexican-white  dent  cross.— Ear  No.  1  is  the  type  of  the  variety  used 
as  the  male  parent.  No.  2  is  the  type  of  the  variety  used  as  the  female  parent.  No. 
3  shows  the  immediate  result  of  the  cross,  corn  from  which  was  planted  to  produce  4 
and  5.  No.  4  is  corn  grown  from  the  wrinkled,  or  sweet,  kernels  of  No.  3.  No.  5  is 
corn  grown  from  the  dent  kernels  of  No.  3. 

Plate  2.  Queen's  golden-common  pearl  cross,  showing  increase  in  size  of  cross-bred 
com.— Kav  No.  1.  is  the  type  of  the  variety  used  as  the  male  parent.  No.  2  is  the  type 
of  the  variety  used  as  the  female  parent.  No.  3  is  corn  grown  from  the  cross  between 
1  and  2.     The  immediate  result  of  the  cross  is  not  shown. 

Plate  j.  Learning-triumph  cross.— Ear  No.  1  is  the  type  of  the  variety  used  as  the 
male  parent.  No.  2  is  the  type  of  the  variety  used  as  the  female  parent.  No.  3 
shows  the  immediate  result  of  crossing.      No.  4.  corn  grown  from  planting  No.  3. 

Plate  4.  Corn  grown  the  second  year  from  the  Learning-mammoth  cross.— Ears  No. 
1  and  2  are  corn  grown  from  yellow  dent  kernels.  No.  3  and  4  are  corn  grown  from 
white  dent  kernels.  No.  5  and  6  are  corn  grown  from  sweet  kernels.  No.  1,  3,  and  6 
show  ears  most  nearly  approaching  the  general  form  of  the  Learning.  No.  2,  4  and 
5  show  ears  most  nearly  approaching  the  general  form  of   the  mammoth  sweet  corn. 


1892." 


PLATE    NO.     I. 


37 


UNOIS 


PLATE    NO.     2, 


89 


N5 


LWOIS 


PLATE    NO.    3. 


9* 


Ss 


-IIMMl 

^.'JltlfffflH 


1 * 1    Mi 


LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

ILLINOIS 


PLATE    NO.    4. 


93 


rete; 


t\3 


r  >§ «<W|tflit#fttft*Mtio4lef **if M0ot«^ 


j^ 


o. 


Oi 


?ARY 
(  OF  ILLINOIS 


1 892.]  corx  crossing.  95 

The  corn  grown  from  the  cross  between  the  black  Mexican  and  Queen's 
golden  seemed  to  be  about  equally  modified  by  both  parents,  with  ker- 
nels both  flint  and  sweet  and  showing  shades  of  all  the  primary  colors 
and  white  besides.  The  corn  grown  from  the  cross  between  Learning 
and  the  different  varieties  of  sweet  corn  showed  a  modification  of  ker- 
nels similar  to  that  found  in  the  black  Mexican-white  dent  cross  at  the 
beginning  of  the  first  generation  ;  but  with  a  decided  tendency  of  many 
ears  toward  the  flint  type,  some  of  them  going  so  far  that,  except  for 
the  sweet  corn  kernels  in  them,  they  might  be  taken  as  types  of  flint 
corn.  The  self-fertilized  ears  showed  the  same  modification  of  kernels 
as  those  naturally  fertilized,  proving  that  each  kernel  of  the  crossed 
corn  had  in  itself  the  power  to  produce  both  sweet  and  dent  corn.  There 
were  comparatively  few  kernels  in  the  corn  grown  from  the  crosses 
between  dent  and  sweet  corn  that  were  not  distinctly  either  sweet,  or 
dent  in  character. 

The  sweet  and  dent  kernels  of  the  black  Mexican-white  dent  cross 
were  separated  and  planted  in  different  plats.  The  result  is  well  shown 
in  plate  i,  page  87,  in  which  the  ears  numbered  4  were  grown  from 
sweet  kernels  and  those  numbered  5  grown  from  dent  kernels,  both 
taken  from  ear  number  3  of  the  same  plate. 

The  corn  grown  from  the  crossed  seed  was  in  nearly  all  cases 
clearly  increased  in  size  as  a  result  of  crossing,  the  cases  in  which  the 
opposite  result  was  reached,  oeing  the  cross  between  black  Mexican  and 
white  dent  (which  was  grown  in  a  place  very  unfavorable  for  it),  and 
that  between  StowelPs  and  8-rowed  sweet.  Plate  1  shows  one  of  the 
instances  of  decrease  of  size  while  plates  2  and  3  show  an  increase  of 
size.  The  ears  shown  as  types  of  'the  varieties  used  in  crossing  are 
selected  typical  specimens  of  the  varieties  and  the  ears  shown  as  grown 
from  the  crossed  seed  are  typical  of  the  cross-bred  corn. 

The  table  on  page  97  will  give  a  still  further  showing  of  results 
from  the  corn  grown  the  first  year  after  the  cross  and  for  the  second 
also  in  cases  wThere  the  corn  has  been  grown  a  second  year.  The 
weights  given  are  for  thoroughly  air-dry  shelled  corn.  The  yield  of 
plats  as  a  whole,  are  not  given  because  estimates  of  yields  from  such 
small  plats  have  heretofore  been  so  very  unsatisfactory.  It  is  hoped 
that  some  of  the  work  outlined  may  be  done  soon  on  a  larger  scale,  so 
as  to  give  more  trustworthy  results  as  to  yield. 

Corn  grown  from  the  crosses  the  second  year  has  continued  to  be 
comparatively  uniform  in  type  where  the  parent  varieties  were  similar; 
but  where  the  parent  varieties  were  widely  different,  as  in  the  crosses 
between  sweet  and  dent,  the  progeny  has  tended  strongly  to  run  back 
to  the  parent  forms,  while  at  the  same  time  taking  on  other  forms 
different  from  either.  This  is  shown  in  part  in  plate  4,  p.  93,  which 
is  made  up  of  ears  of  the  second  generation  from  the  Learning-mam- 
moth cross.  The  ears  numbered  one  and  two  were  grown  from 
yellow  dent   kernels;    those  numbered  three  and  four,  from  white  dent 


9^  BULLETIN    NO.    21.  [May, 

kernels;  and  those  numbered  five  and  six  from  sweet  kernels.  The 
ears  numbered  one,  three,  and  six  approach  in  type  of  ear  to  the  Learn- 
ing, while  the  rest  of  them  are  similar  to  the  mammoth.  There  are 
many  gradations  between  the  two  forms,  and  among  the  ears  grown 
from  the  white  or  yellow  dent  kernels  there  are  some  which  approach 
the  flint  corn  type  much  more  than  ears  2  and  4  shown  in  the  plate. 

The  black  Mexican-Queen's  golden  and  black  Mexican-white  dent 
crosses  show  still  more  variation  in  the  second  generation  than  is  shown 
by  the  crosses  of  Learning  and  sweet  corn.  The  black  Mexican-white 
dent  cross  showed  but  little  tendency  to  run  back  to  the  dent  type,  but 
a  strong  tendency  toward  sweet  and  flint  types. 

Nearly  all  the  corn  grown  a  second  year  from  the  crosses  is  smaller 
than  that  grown  the  first  year,  though  most  of  it  is  yet  larger  than  the 
average    size    of    the    parent    varieties.     The    cause    of    this  apparent 
decrease  in   size,   as   compared  with    the   previous    year,   can   only   be 
guessed  at.     It  cannot  be  attributed  to  the  season,  because  the  Queen's 
golden-common  pearl  pop-corn  and  gold  coin-flour  corn  crosses  grown 
in  1891  show  as  large  a  proportionate  increase  in  size  of  ear  as  is  shown 
in   any   of   the   crosses   grown  in    1890.      There   is  probably    a  strong 
natural  tendency  in  the  crosses  to  revert  to  the  size  as  well  as  the  form 
of  the  parent  types.     This  is  shown  in  the  Learning-sweet  corn  crosses 
in  which  the  corn  reverting  to  the  dent  is  larger  than  that  reverting  to 
the  sweet  types.     Or  the  loss  of  size    may   be  due  to  a  diminution  in 
some  way  of  the  vigor  imparted  by  crossing.     Each  plat  being  planted 
from  a  single  ear  there  would  necessarily  be  close  inbreeding,  which 
it  is  generally  admitted   tends   to   deterioration.     That    there   was  very 
little  mixing  of  the  corn  in  one  plat  with  that  in  another  is  shown  by 
the  character  of  the  corn  grown  from  selected  seed,  which  in  very  few 
cases  showed  anything  different  from  the  corn  grown  from  seed  which 
was  artificially  crossed  and  so  known  to  be  pure.     Plats  grown  from 
self-fertilized  seed  were  in  most  cases  notably  inferior  in  size  and  vigor 
to   the   plats   grown   from   crossed  seed   or  from  seed   simply  selected. 
This  is  shown  to  some  extent  in   the   last  column  in  the  table  on  p.  97. 
(As  used  in  the  table  the  term  means  a  cross  between  different  stalks  of 
the  same  plat  and  not  as  in  the  other  case  between  different  varieties.) 
The  table  does  not  give  so  convincing  an  illustration  of  the  bad  effects 
of  self-fertilization  as  the  plats  themselves  did  when  growing,  or  as  the 
corn  did  when  husked  and  thrown  into  piles.     One  plat  from  self-fertil- 
ized   seed,  had    nearly   half  the   stalks   deformed   in   such  manner  that 
instead  of  standing  up  straight  they  turned  off  nearly  at  a  right  angle 
at  or  near  the  joint  where   the  ear  was  produced,  thus  throwing  the 
tassel  on  a  level  with  or  below  the  ear.     Many  of  the  tassels  were  very 
deficient  in  pollen.     In  another  plat  from  self-fertilized  seed   nearly  all 
the  tassels  were  abortive.     All  the  plats  from  self-fertilized  seed  pro- 
duced   a   greater  proportion    of   barren  stalks  and   of   poorly  filled  ears 
than  the  plats  of  the  same  varieties  either  from  crossed  seed  or  from 


1892.] 


CORN    CROSSING. 


97 


Results  from  Crosses  of  Corn. 


Cross. 

0 

CD 
<    P 

S-'o 

3 
ST 

Wt.  of  10  ears  of  the  female 
variety. 

Wt.  of    10   ears   grown    from 
cross  the  first  year. 

Ave.  wt.  10  ears  of    the    two 
parent  vareties. 

Wt.  of  10  ears  the  second  year 
after  the  cross,  oz. 

White  dent- Queen's  golden. 

81 

34-5   57-7576 

Ears  like  the  dent  type 64 

Ears  like  the  pop  corn  type. 52. 5 

Queen's  golden-white   dent. 

34.581      57-7564 

Ears  like  flint  corn 55 

Ears  like  pop-corn  type 47 . 5 

Black  Mexican-Queen's  golden {36 

34-5 

35-25 
3i 

47-5 

Types  not  separated 43.5 

Queen's  golden-common  pearl  pop-corn . 

34-5 

27-5 

42 

Not  grown  a  second  year. 

Learning-mammoth 

87.5  61.5 

74-5    9i 

Corn  grown  from  yel.  dent  k.  86 
Corn  from  white  dent  ker. .  .90 
Corn  from  sweet  kernels 74 

Learning-mammoth    

87-5 

61.5 

74-5    82 

Not  grown  a  second  year. 

Learning-mammoth    

87.5 

61.5 

74-5 

80.5 

Not  grown  a  second  year. 

87.5 

46.  s 

67 

83 
72 

Corn  from  dent  kernels 86 

Corn  from  sweet  kernels 68 

Leaming-8-rowed 

87-5  41 

64.25 

Corn  from  white  dent  ker.  .  .80 
Corn  from  yellow  dent  ker.  .75 

Corn  from  sweet  kernels 58 

Gold  coin-flour  corn 63      '39 

5i 

78 

Has  not  yet  been  grown  a  2d  year. 

Black  Mexican -white  dent,  j  36      181 

58.5 

51 

From  flint  ker.  of  flinty  e. .  .53 
From  flint  ker.   of  sweet  e. .  .40 
From  sweet  ker.  of  flint  e.  .  .39 
From  sweet  ker.  of  sweet  e.  .38.25 

Stowell's-8-rowed 

'57-5  41 

49-25 

47 

From  selected  ears 49 

From  self-fertilized  ears 38 

From  cross-fertilized  ears. .  .43 

Stowell's-triumph     

57-5  46.5 

52 

52.5 

From  self-fertilized  seed 31 

From  cross-fertilized  ear 48-5 

"    ....41 
Seed  from  selected   ears....  54 
Seed  from  self-fertilized  e.  .  .39 

Stowell's-mammoth 57-5 

61.5 

59-5 

61 

Self-fer.  ear,  plat  88 43 

' 76 52 

From  cross-fer.  ear,  plat  86.55 

"     87.45.5 
Seed  from  selected  ears 55 

Stowell's-gold  coin 

57-5 

62.5 

60 

62.5 

From  self-fer.  ear,  plat  89.  .  .48 

90-- -54 

"     91. ..54 

Seed  from  selected  ears 58 

Seed  from  self-fer.  ear 48 

Gold  coin-triumph 

62.5 

46.5 

54-5 

58.5 

From  cross-fer.  ear,  plat  93 .56 

"     92.50 

Seed  from  selected  ears 49 

Gold    coin-8-rowed 62 .  5 

41 

51-75 

56 

Seed  from  selected  ears 50 

Gold    coin-8-rowed 

62.5 

41 

51 .75  58      'Not  grown  a  second  year. 

98  BULLETIN    NO.    21.  [Afaj>, 

seed  naturally  fertilized.  The  table  giving  the  weight  of  ten  selected 
ears  of  corn  from  self-fertilized  seed  and  of  ten  ears  from  crossed  or 
from  selected  seed  does  not  give  a  correct  idea  of  the  inferiority  of  the 
corn  from  the  self- fertilized  seed  because  it  does  not  take  into  account 
either  the  greater  proportion  of  abortive  stalks  or  of  small  and  poorly 
filled  ears. 

From  the  work  so  far  done  there  seems  to  be  no  way  of  telling 
beforehand  what  varieties  will  when  crossed  produce  corn  of  an 
increased  size  and  what  will  not.  Some  of  the  varieties  which  may  be 
supposed  to  be  most  nearly  related  as  the  sweet  corns,  have  shown  but 
little  increase  when  grown  from  crossed  seed,  while  two  varieties  of 
pop-corn,  which  would  seem  as  nearly  related,  to  each  other  as  the 
varieties  of  sweet  corn,  gave  a  very  decided  increase  in  size  when 
grown  from  crossed  seed.  The  corn  grown  from  the  cross  of  black 
Mexican  and  white  dent,  two  widely  different  varieties,  showed  a  de- 
crease of  size,  while  corn  grown  from  a  cross  of  flour  corn  and  gold 
coin,  varieties  apparently  as  widely  different  as  any  crossed,  gave  ears 
showing  the  greatest  proportionate  gain  in  size. 

It  would  be  desirable  to  have  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the 
development  of  the  races  and  varieties  of  corn.  Many  of  our  varieties 
of  sweet  corn  are  the  result  of  accidental  or  intentional  crosses  with 
varieties  of  dent  corn.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  evergreen  types, 
such  as  Stowell's,  old  Colony,  gold  coin,  and  others,  some  of  them 
giving  evidence  of  having  been  crossed  two  or  more  times.  There  are 
indications  that  one  of  the  varieties  of  pop-corn,  Queen's  golden,  is  the 
result  of  a  cross  between  another  variety  of  pop-corn  and  a  yellow  dent 
variety.  A  more  accurate  knowledge  of  the  parentage  of  varieties 
already  possessed  would  be  of  value  in  the  attempt  at  further  improve- 
ment, as  well  as  of  scientific  interest.  The  work  of  crossing  and  grow- 
ing crossed  seed  has  given  some  clews  though  not  enough  yet  for  pub- 
lication. 

In  the  production  of  new  varieties  by  crossing  it  will  seldom  be 
desirable  to  cross  two  varieties  that  are  very  widely  different  from  each 
other.  It  is  probable  that,  on  the  whole,  selection  with  occasional 
partial  changes  of  seed  will  give  more  permanent  as  well  as  more  satis- 
factory results  for  the  general  farmer  than  would  the  continual  cross- 
ing and  breaking  up  of  well  fixed  types;  though  there  does  seem 
reason  to  believe  that  the  crossing  of  such  distinct  and  well  fixed  types 
will,  for  the  time  being  at  least,  give  larger  corn  and  better  yields. 

It  has  long  been  a  favorite  theory  among  farmers  that  an 
occasional  change  of  seed  is  advantageous.  So  far  as  is  known  no 
reason  for  the  supposed  benefit  has  ever  been  given.  If  the  change 
seemed  to  prove  advantageous  all  the  good  was  attributed  to  the  change 
of  seed,  as  though  change  alone  were  a  sufficient  explanation.  Where 
a  grower  continues  to  save  his  own  seed  year  after  year  from  the  same 
lot  of  corn,  there  is  what  may  be  termed  a  sort  of  inbreeding,  more  or 


T8a2.~|  CORN    CROSSING.  99 

less  close  according  as  the  acreage  grown  is  large  or  small.  If  the 
same  principle  is  applicable  to  corn  as  to  our  domestic  animals,  we 
should  expect  this  inbreeding  to  tell  sooner  or  later  on  the  health,  vigor, 
and  size  of  the  progeny.  Among  plants  in  a  state  of  nature,  where 
there  must  be  much  in  the  way  of  line  breeding  and  some  inbreeding, 
there  is  often  brought  into  a  community  seeds  only  very  distantly 
related,  as  where  the  blue  jay  carries  acorns  from  one  part  of  a  forest  to 
another  sometimes  many  miles  distant.  When  an  acorn  thus  carried 
grows  into  a  fruiting  tree  it  brings  in  an  element  more  or  less  distinct, 
just  as  the  breeder  of  animals  does  when  he  goes  to  a  herd  more  or  less 
distantly  related  to  his  own  to  obtain  stock  for  breeding.  If  advantage 
to  the  farmer  comes  as  a  result  of  making  a  complete  change  of  seed, 
it  must  be  because  the  seed  grower  is  a  more  successful  producer  from 
some  cause  or  causes  than  the  seed  buyer.  But  where  the  advantage 
comes  through  only  a  partial  change  it  may  be  due  to  some  other  cause. 
It  may  be  that  the  new  introduction  is  superior,  but  has  parted  with 
some  of  its  superiority  so  that  the  result  is  only  an  average  of  the  two 
lots  combined;  or  it  may  be  that  the  introduction  of  the  new  strain  or 
variety  has  not  only  added  vigor  to  that  before  grown,  but  has  itself 
taken  on  new  vigor  as  a  result  of  being  grown  with  something  of  a 
strain  or  variety  more  distantly  related. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  our  cereals  are  as  amenable  to  the 
breeder's  art  as  are  any  other  plants,  or  as  animals.  It  is  only  a  quest- 
ion of  taking  hold  intelligently  and  working  faithfully.  If  the  man 
with  false  ideas  as  to  plant  breeding  can  succeed  in  making  improve- 
ments, the  man  with  correct  notions  should  be  so  much  the  more  suc- 
cessful. 

This  work  gives  us  a  clew  to  the  relative  prospects  of  improvment 
in  other  lines  by  cross  breeding.  A  variety  or  type  that  is  strongly 
fixed  is  more  apt  to  transmit  characters  than  one  poorly  or  not  at  all 
fixed.  If  we  should  try  to  improve  corn  by  crossing  the  product  of  two 
of  these  cross-bred  groups  of  corn  we  should  expect  to  get  as  a  result  a 
few  superior  ears  with  a  very  large  proportion  of  inferior  ones.  Even 
in  our  well  selected  varieties  that  have  been  picked  for  years  with  refer- 
ence to  given  points  of  excellence,  the  tendency  to  run  back  to  inferior 
forms  is  so  strong  that  the  grower  would  save  hardly  one-tenth  of  his 
crop  for  his  own  seed.  If  our  well  selected  varieties  deteriorate  thus 
when  constantly  and  carefully  selected,  two  varieties  that  have  been  long 
selected  for  opposite  or  widely  different  qualities  must  when  crossed 
tend  to  neutralize  most  strongly  the  very  traits  which  we  have  with  so 
much  pains  brought  out  and  maintained.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
varieties  crossed  have  long  been  selected  on  the  same  or  very  similar 
lines,  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  occasional  crossing  will  not  tend 
to  fix  more  strongly  the  desired  characters. 

This  idea  carried  over  to  the  fruits  (perennials)  brings  up  the  quest- 
ion whether  or  not   there   is  after  all  much    to   be  gained  by  crossing. 


IOO 


BULLETIN    NO.     21.  [May, 


Outside  of  the  wild  species,  there  is  nothing  among  them  that  would 
answer  to  the  well  selected  varieties  of  corn,  to  form  a  basis  from  which 
to  make  a  start.  Apple  trees  from  seed  are  propagated  as  varieties  only 
when  they  differ  from  every  other  known  variety.  If  a  seedling  of 
Ben  Davis  did  not  differ  in  some  very  noticeable  character  from  its  parent, 
there  would  be  no  thought  of  its  perpetuation.  Thus  there  are  no  va- 
rieties of  apple  in  the  sense  that  there  are  varieties  of  corn;  and  because 
we  do  not  have  a  permanent  type  fixed  by  sexual  generation,  we  cannot 
expect  anything  like  the  uniformity  in  growing  natural  seedlings,  or 
seedlings  from  crosses  of  similar  varieties  of  apple,  that  we  should  obtain 
by  growing  corn  when  bred  pure  or  when  pure  and  similar  varieties  are 
crossed. 

METHODS  OF  CROSSING. 

In  doing  this  sort  of  work,  or  any  other,  for  that  matter,  experi- 
mentally, it  is  essential  that  it  be  done  in  such  a  way  that  we  are  sure  of 
our  results.  It  will  not  do  to  find  a  few  kernels  in  an  ear  differing  from 
the  rest  and  guess  that  they  were  crossed  by  some  other  variety  grow- 
ing near  or  that  they  had  reverted  to  a  former  type.  Such  work  leads 
only  to  a  tangled  maze.  But  having  followed  accurate  methods  and 
found  that  some  good  may  be  expected  to  come  as  a  result  of  similar 
work  on  a  larger  scale,  the  methods  of  precision,  may  in  a  measure  be 
laid  aside,  and  something  more  practical  used. 

For  our  experimental  work  we  have  found  the  best  method  to  be  to 
cover  up,  before  the  silks  are  out,  both  the  tassel  and  the  coming  ear,  with 
a  closely  woven  cloth  bag.  Covering  the  tassel  of  the  stalk  desired  for 
a  male  parent  insures  a  full  supply  of  pollen,  which  seems  to  retain  its 
vitality  for  several  days  if  kept  dry.  Covering  the  shoot  or  prospective 
ear  keeps  away  pollen  not  wanted.  When  the  silks  reach  a  length  of 
three  or  four  inches,  the  ear  is  ready  for  fertilization.  We  then  gather 
the  pollen  on  a  sheet  of  smooth  paper  and  roll  it  up  funnel  shaped. 
Next  raise  an  umbrella  and  hold  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  keep  all  flying 
pollen  from  the  ear,  remove  the  bag,  and  apply  the  pollen  until  the 
silks  are  almost  hidden.  In  favorable  corn  weather  a  single  application 
of  pollen  is  sufficient.     Everything  is  to  be  kept  carefully  labeled. 

For  the  farmer  who  wishes  to  undertake  something  of  this  kind  01 
a  larger  scale,  the  best  way  would  be  be  to  plant  a  field,  except  one  or 
more  rows  in  the  middle,  with  the  variety  proposed  to  be  used  as 
male  parent,  and  to  plant  in  these  rows  that  were  left  the  other  variety 
As  soon  as  the  tassels  come  out  cut  them  off  from  the  female  variety 
and  it  would  be  well  at  the  same  time  to  cut  them  off  from  all  the  in- 
ferior stalks  of  the  male  variety. 

The  following  are  some   of  the   most    obvious    conclusions    drawi 
from  the  work  of  crossing  corn: 


1S92.]  SWEET    CORN,    THICKNESS    OF    PLANTING. 


IOI 


The  ear  of  corn  may  be  as  readily  fertilized  by  pollen  from  its  own 
stalk  as  by  the  pollen  of  another  stalk.  A  stalk  grown  by  itself 
fails  to  make  a  perfect  ear  only  because  the  wind  carries  the  pollen 
away. 

The  classes  of  corn,  as  dent,  sweet,  pop,  and  flour,  can  be  inter- 
crossed with  perfect  freedom.  Corn  cannot  be  a  improved  by  self- 
fertilization. 

There  seems  to  be  a  strong  tendency  in  the  progeny  of  the  crosses 
of  the  different  classes  of  corn,  dent,  sweet,  and  pop,  toward  corn  of 
the  flint  type. 

The  results  from  planting  different  ears  of  the  same  cross  are  apt 
to  be  quite  different,  and  what  appears  to  be  the  best  ear  does  not 
always  give  the  best  results.  The  three  ears  produced  by  crossing 
mammoth  with  Learning  were  all  fertilized  by  the  same  pollen.  The 
three  ears  planted  separately  produced  lots  of  corn  differing  from  each 
other  fully  as  much  as  many  of  our  well  marked  varieties.  One  of  the 
three  ears  produced  by  crossing  was  decidedly  superior  in  size  and  ap- 
pearance to  the  other  two,  yet  one  of  the  inferior  ears  produced  the 
largest  and  best  corn. 

G.  W.  McCluer,  B.  S.,  Assistant  Horticulturist. 


SWEET  CORN,  THICKNESS  OF  PLANTING,  1891. 

Experiment  No.  ij6. 

May  12,  1 89 1,  15  plats  of  sweet  corn  of  three  varieties  were  planted 

to  note  something  of  the  effect  of  thickness  of  planting  on  the  yield. 

All  the  plats  were  of  9  rows,  each   2  rods  long,  1-40  of  an  acre.     The 

varieties  used  were  Cory,  Landreth's  early  or  Burlington,  and  Roslyn 

hybrid. 

Cory  is  the  earliest  and  smallest  variety  commonly  cultivated,  usu- 
ally growing  about  four  feet  high. 

Burlington  is  nearly  as  early  as  the  Cory  but  of  larger  growth, 
making  stalks   usually    5   to  6  ft.  high,  and  much   more  leafy  than  the 

Cory. 

Roslyn  hybrid  is  one  of  the  largest  growing  varieties  of  sweet 
corn,  very  similar  in  general  character  to  the  StowelPs,  growing  usu- 
ally 7  to  8  ft.  high,  large  and  leafy. 

Plats  1  to  5,  Cory;  6  to  10,  Landreth's  early;  and  11  to  15,  Roslyn 
hybrid.     The  corn  was  all  planted  in  hills.     On  all  the  plats  the  rows 


102 


BULLETIN    NO.     21 


[Mayy\ 


were  3  ft.  8  in.  apart.  In  plats  1  and  6  the  hills  were  put  12  inches 
apart;  in  plats  2,  7,  and  11  the  hills  were  planted  18  inches  apart;  in 
plats  3,  8,  and  12  the  hills  were  planted  24  inches  apart;  in  plats  4,  9, 
and  13  the  hills  were  planted  30  inches  apart;  in  plats  5,  10,  and  14  the 
hills  were  planted  36  inches  apart;  and  in  plat  15  the  hills  were  42 
inches  apart.     The  corn  was  thinned  June  1st  to  4  stalks  per  hill. 

Plats  4,  5,  7,  and  8  were  very  badly  affected  by  the  bacterial  corn 
disease,  described  in  bulletin  No.  6,  August,  1889.  The  other  plats,  as 
was  most  of  the  corn  in  this  vicinity,  were  also  affected  but  not  to  such 
an  extent  as  those  noted.  Very  early  varieties  of  corn  seemed  more 
affected  than  the  later  ones  that  were  planted  at  the  same  time.  Some 
of  the  early  corn  grown  by  market  gardeners  was  entirely  destroyed. 
The  corn  first  assumes  a  yellowish  appearance,  stops  growing,  and 
then,  in  bad  cases,  rots  off  at  the  ground. 

The  corn  was  given  the  ordinary  field  cultivation. 

Owing  to  the  diseased  condition  of  the  plats  all  the  ears  and  nub- 
bins in  each  plat  were  counted  together  as  ears,  and  all  were  then 
weighed,  and  no  further  account  taken  of  them. 

The  following  table  gives  results: 

Yield  of  Sweet  Corn  planted  at  different  Degrees  of  Thickness,  i8qi. 


Plat. 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

9 

10 
11 
12 

T3 
J4 

15 


Variety. 


Cory. 


Burlington 


Roslyn  hybrid 


Distance    of 

hills 

Number  of 

Weight  of  corn, 

apart,  inches. 

ears. 

lb. 

12 

481 

30 

18 

382 

22 

24 

377 

27/2 

30 

264 

isy2 

36 

219 

13 

12 

671 

72 

18 

57i 

53lA 

24 

473 

6i/2 

30 

419 

64 

36 

379 

68 

18 

295 

60 

24 

276 

65 

30 

260 

68 

36 

268 

69 

42 

288 

98 

G.  W.  McCluer,  Assistant  Horticulturist. 


892.]  SEASON  AND  CORN   CROP,    1S92.  I  03 


THE  LATE  SEASON  AND  THE  CORN  CROP. 

The  situation  as  regards  the  corn  crop  for  1892  is  serious  in  Illinois 
as  well  as  in  other  corn  growing  states.  Not  for  many  years  has  there 
been  so  small  an  acreage  planted  in  Illinois  at  corresponding  date,  May 
1 2th,  as  now.  Much  land  remains  unplowed.  The  temperature  is  low, 
the  soil  cold.  Many  thousands  of  acres  of  low  lying  land  are  either 
covered  with  water  or  thoroughly  saturated.  But  with  favorable 
weather  in  future  there  is  no  reason  for  panic  or  fear  of  a  failure  of  the 
crop.  Trials  at  this  Station  for  four  years  past  show  that  good  crops 
may  be  expected,  in  seasons  of  ordinary  character,  from  planting  any 
time  in  May.  The  best  yields  have  come  from  planting  between  May 
nth  and  16th.  If  the  planting  can  be  completed  in  Central  Illinois  by 
May  25th,  or  even  May  30th,  the  land  being  in  good  condition  and  late 
maturing  varieties  avoided,  there  need  be  little  anxiety  so  far  as  date  of 
planting  is  concerned.  Fair  crops  of  corn  may  be  secured  by  planting 
early  maturing  varieties  as  late  as  June  10th,  should  that  be  necessary, 
if  the  season  afterward  be  favorable.  Late  planted  corn  will  mature  in 
a  less  number  of  days  than  corn  of  the  same  variety  planted  earlier. 

It  is  believed  to  be  better  to  wait  until  the  ground  is  fairly  dry 
rather  than  either  to  plow  or  plant  while  it  is  very  wet.  Time  and 
labor  spenf  in  getting  the  ground  in  good  condition  and  free  from  weeds 
will  probably  be  well  repaid,  even  at  the  cost  of  two  or  three  days 
longer  delay  in  planting. 

Where  overflowed  lands  do  not  become  dry  until  too  late  for  the 
corn  crop  and  then  do  get  in  good  working  condition,  it  is  probable  so 
large  a  crop  of  good  stock  food  can  be  procured  in  no  other  way  so 
quickly  and  cheaply  as  by  sowing  the  land  to  millet,  which  can  be  har- 
vested in  time  to  permit  the  sowing  of  a  wheat  crop  in  September. 

G.  E.  Morrow,  M.A.,  Agriculturist. 


All  communications  intended  for  the  Station  should  be  addressed, 
not  to  any  person,  but  to  the 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Champaign,  Illinois. 

The  bulletins  of  the  Experiment  Station  will  be  sent  free  of  all 
charges  to  persons  engaged  in  farming  who  may  request  that  they  be  sent. 


:o4  bulletin  no.  21.  [May,  1892. 


ORGANIZATION. 


BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS. 

SAMUEL  A.  BULLARD,  Springfield,  President. 
JOSEPH  W.  FIFER,  Springfield,  Governor  of  Illinois. 
LAFAYETTE  FUNK,  Shirley,  President  State  Board  of  Agriculture. 
HENRY  RAAB,  Springfield,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 
EMORY  COBB,  Kankakee.  GEORGE  R.  SHAWHAN,  Urbana. 

W.  W.  CLEMENS,  Marion.  FRANCIS  M.  McKAY,  Chicago. 

JOHN  H.  BRYANT,  Princeton.  RICHARD  P.  MORGAN,  Dwight. 

NELSON  W.  GRAHAM,  Carbondale. 

BOARD  OF  DIRECTION  OF  THE  EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

GEORGE  E.  MORROW,  A.M.,  Champaign,  Professor  of  Agriculture,  President. 

E.  E.  CHESTER,  Champaign,  of  State  Board  of  Agriculture. 

HENRY  M.  DUNLAP,  Savoy,  of  State  Horticultural  Society 

H.  B.  GURLER,  DeKalb,  of  State  Dairymen's  Association. 

EMORY  COBB,  Kankakee,  Trustee  of  the  University. 

LAFAYETTE  FUNK,  Shirley,  Trustee  of  the  University. 

THOMAS  J.  BURRILL,  Ph.D.,  Urbana,  Professor  of  Botany  and  Horticulture. 

STEPHEN  A.  FORBES,  Ph.D.,  Champaign,  Professor  of  Zoology  and  Entomology. 

EDWARD  H.  FARRINGTON,  M.S.,  Champaign,  Chemist  of  Station. 

THE  STATION  STAFF. 

GEORGE  E.  MORROW,  A.M.,  Agriculturist,  President  of  Board  of  Direction. 

WILLIAM  L.  PILLSBURY,  A.M.,  Champaign,  Secretary. 

THOMAS  J.  BURRILL,  Ph.D.,  Horticulturist  and  Botanist. 

EDWARD  H.  FARRINGTON,  M.S.,  Chemist. 

STEPHEN  A.  FORBES,  Ph.D.,  Consulting  Entomologist. 

DONALD  McINTOSH,  V.S.,  Consulting  Veterinarian. 

GEORGE  W.  McCLUER,  B.S.,  Assistant  Horticulturist. 

GEORGE  P.  CLINTON,  B.S.,  Assistant  Botanist. 

E.  K.  NELSON,  Assistant  Chemist. 

FRANK  D.  GARDNER,  B.S.,  Assistant  Agriculturist. 


